[Video] 189/190 grants continue! International students and other temporary visa holders could return as early as July!? October border reopening signals a positive outlook for migration!

This week’s migration bulletin highlights—

1. MIA briefing session highlights — don’t miss this

2. Canberra issues state nominations, Victoria releases its February invitation round report, 132 invitations closing soon

3. Perpetrators of family violence may have visas cancelled or refused

4.“More occupations added to the shortage list!” “Employer sponsorship eased!” “Border reopening plan!” The PM voices strong support for migration!Australia to reopen its borders in October — but on what conditions?

5.This week’s roundup of visa grants, invitations, skills assessments and citizenship processing progress

1. MIA briefing session highlights — don’t miss this

This Friday, MIA invited officials from the Department of Home Affairs and officers from each state government’s migration program to brief on the current situation. Starting with state nomination,this was essentially a stage-by-stage summary following the states receiving their full quotas and progressively reopening during this transitional period,with around 3 months left in this financial year, barring any surprises,each state government’s direction is unlikely to change significantly from here,the only major variable isthat quotas may gradually be used up towards the end of the financial year,but it’sexpected that, due to pandemic-related interruptions and delays this financial year, invitation rounds will continue to be issued intermittently,and overall quota usage isn’t as tight as in previous years.

The key information was all summarised on Friday — for the full details, see:Latest official migration news! Home Affairs officials think Subclass 189 may pick up next financial year? Visa processing arrangements! Current state nomination quotas and application status!Now for the highlights of the highlights:

NSW:As of now, between 600 and 700 formal Subclass 190 invitations have been issued,pre-invitations will continue to be issued,and as usual NSW won’t give specific plans or figures, but judging from the state officer’s tone,NSW is gradually settling into a regular rhythm,though competition in NSW remains fierce, and they still advise having a Plan B rather than waiting indefinitely. Another point was the 190/491 occupation lists — they acknowledged many occupations considered to be in shortage are missing from them,but NSW tends to follow the federal government’s lead closely and has many rules and constraints, so changes aren’t easy to make.

Victoria:Since adopting the ROI rules, Victoria has, like Canberra, moved towards a more structured process, including providing data summaries (more on this below). So far it has received over 5,000 Subclass 190 ROI applications, issued 1,140 ROI invitations, and over 700 applicants have received formal nomination invitations. For Subclass 491, 270 ROI invitations have been issued, along with 108 formal nomination invitations.The state officer placed particular emphasis on the applicant’s current occupation as arguably the most important criterion. Working in an industry or field considered in shortage or helping the economic recovery — such as advanced manufacturing, health and life sciences, and agrifood, of course including healthcare — improves an applicant’s chances, and even those whose nominated occupation isn’t classed as being in shortage or helping the pandemic recovery may still be invited.

Canberra:As of now, 491 has 414 formal nomination places remaining, and 190 has 386 remaining. The ACT is currently the most diligent and down-to-earth state nomination program — it issues Matrix invitations every week, and formal nomination applications are processed quickly.The officer in charge stated clearly that Canberra genuinely needs migrants — with the international border currently closed, they are striving to keep as many nominated occupations open as possible, and are now hoping to attract people from other states, believing they’ll find good opportunities once they arrive. There will be another review of nominated occupations in April.

Tasmania:Competition in Tasmania has been extremely fierce this financial year, with a large backlog of applications. Subclass 491 is expected to have just over 400 places left, and 190 around 600 remaining.The state officer stressed the importance of improving one’s competitiveness — it’s better to wait and apply once your profile is stronger. Having a job, and being able to show them a clear future career pathway, has now become very important.Under these conditions, local graduates remain the group the state government supports most.

Queensland:Queensland’s focus this financial year is on business/investor migration and the small business stream under 491, and the state officer spent considerable time on each. The current processing priority order for business/investor migration is: 132A, 188A, 188C, 188E, 188B. The preferred business types are mainly those that help the economic recovery, boost productivity, and create more jobs, among other factors.The business/investor migration application channel is currently suspended while they work to secure more places.The small business 491 stream will be adjusted from 1 April — as already mentioned, the small business stream is still open for applications,while other skilled migration streams will reopen in April, which will also be the last opening for this financial year.

South Australia:South Australia has opened up a large and comprehensive range of occupations, but the specific requirements vary considerably from occupation to occupation,with small adjustments to different occupations made almost every week. The state officer said internal discussions are ongoing about how to make fair allocations, which is why so many small adjustments are being seen.It’s clear the state government wants to promote what’s newly been addedtalent and innovator program, with popular occupations like accounting, for example, most recently changed to require going through the Talent and Innovator program only,

Northern Territory:The key word iscommitment, and the NT is likely the state government that places the most weight on local residence and study. Since the NT’s quota is already the smallest of all, for those who do secure an invitation within this limited number of places,they hope those applicants stay in the local area long-term — before nomination, after nomination and after the visa is granted, all the same.

Western Australia:No officer responsible for the skilled migration program was in attendance, so only a general overview of business/investor migration was given.

Department of Home Affairs: Compared with the state officers, the Home Affairs officials’ remarks were far more formal. Although each was a key person in their respective area, “not yet confirmed”, “under review” and “working on it” essentially summed up the gist of their responses.

The migration program and its composition for the 2021–22 financial year is still being formulated,with clearer news expected around the release of next financial year’s Budget in May. Next financial year will be the first full financial year of the post-pandemic recovery, with the focus on how migration can help Australia’s economy recover. Business/investor migration, the Global Talent Independent program (GTI) and employer sponsorship are, for now, the clearest directions we’ve heard, though officials will continue weighing further factors and gathering input from all sides (more on this below).

On visa processing:Partner migration has ample places available and processing will continue to be sped up. Occupations on the PMSOL list, and others linked to shortage occupations or the economic recovery, will be prioritised for processing — the processing team hasn’t been slacking off and has done everything it can to speed things up (fair enough). When the officer responsible for visa processing was asked during Q&A whether Subclass 189 would pick up next financial year, he said, only from his personal point of view, that the unemployment rate falling faster than expected during the pandemic recovery could be good news for 189 next financial year.

Travel exemptions:Will more exemptions be added for other industries? Will parents and grandparents get travel exemptions? Will 491 and 489 provisional PR holders get a chance at a travel exemption? Still no news, don’t know — the officer’s role is mainly processing, and decisions on these matters aren’t hers to make.

What applicants and industry practitioners most want to hear from officials is information about “what will happen in the future”, but government officials can generally only speak to what is certain and factual — where there’s no settled position, they’re not in a position to make too many predictions about the future.That said, it’s clear that both the state governments and the federal government know everyone is anxious, and the government is doing something about it — the signals are positive, and we’re hoping to see good outcomes soon.

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2. Canberra issues state nominations, Victoria releases its February invitation round report, 132 invitations closing soon

CanberraThis Friday, Matrix invitations continued to be issued,among general applicants, 32 invitations were issued for 190 and 61 for 491. Here’s the situation for some popular occupations:

Accountant:Minimum 105 points for 491, 110 points for 190

Civil Engineer:Minimum 65 points for 491, minimum 75 points for 190

Graphic and Web Design categories:Minimum 80 points for 190

Other Engineering Professionals 2339:Minimum 65 points for 491,minimum 70 points for 190(2020 figures)

Graphic and Web Designers category:Minimum 75 points for both 190 and 491

ICT occupations 2611/2613/2621/2631/2632:Among those invited,the minimum score for 491 was 65 points, and the minimum score for 190 clustered around 85 points.

Social Worker 2725:Minimum 70 points for 190

Early Childhood Teacher:Minimum80 points for 190

Registered Nurse:Minimum 60 points for 491, minimum 65 points for 190

Canberra’s formal nomination applications are also being processed quickly — after submitting the full documents, many applicants have recently received a formal nomination invitation within a week. See the #Weekly Invitations Roundup# below for specific examples.

While you’re hesitating, others in the same profession are securing invitations without needing to reach 90/95/100 points! If your occupation is already on the “shortlist”, and you’re watching invitation round after invitation round go out, watching people in your own profession get through one after another — doesn’t it make you want to act? Start with the first step: scan the QR code below and contact our customer service team to arrange your points assessment and evaluation!

VictoriaSince receiving its full state nomination quota, two rounds of ROI invitations have been issued. February’s ROI results came out this week — here are the highlights:

190:A cumulative total of 5,121 ROI applications have been received; as at the end of February,1,140 ROI invitations have been issued, and the number of applicants who actually submitted a full application after receiving an ROI invitation is 1,043.

491:A cumulative total of 701 ROI applications have been received; as at the end of February, 270 ROI invitations have been issued, and the number of applicants who actually submitted a full application after receiving an ROI invitation is 209.

In terms of the occupations invited: Health Professionals are far ahead with close to 900, followed by Design, Engineering, Science and Transport Professionals, third is Legal, Social and Welfare Professionals, and fourth is ICT Professionals.

The next round of ROI invitations will be issued on 19.3.2021, and the next application window opens on 6.4.2021. If you have a job in Victoria, feel free to contact us for an assessment.

Also, since the federal government is abolishing the Subclass 132 Business Talent visa (including 132A and 132B) from 1 July 2021, and given that Victoria’s state nomination processing time is currently around 3 months,the deadline for submitting a Victorian state nomination application for 132 is 5:00pm on 31 March 2021 (Australian Eastern Time).

3. Perpetrators of family violence may have visas cancelled or refused

The Minister for Immigration announced this week that a new legislative instrument on visa refusal or cancellation for failing the character test has come into effect, focused mainly on family violence. The following are considered very serious conduct or offences:

The following are considered serious conduct or offences:

4. “More occupations added to the shortage list!” “Employer sponsorship eased!” “Border reopening plan!” The PM voices strong support for migration! Borders reopening in October — but on what conditions?

The Minister for Immigration asked the parliamentary standing committee to launcha consultation on skilled migration visas, and nearly 80 submissions have already been received. Some of the shared proposals from key organisations include:

— Expanding the PMSOL shortage occupation list, which currently has only 18 occupations

— Allocating more resources to clear the visa processing backlog, as applicants and employers are very unhappy about the repeated delays

— Providing a clearer border reopening plan, so that some skilled migrants can return to Australia early to help with skills and labour shortages

— While borders remain closed and people can’t return from overseas, prioritising applicants who are already onshore.

For more specific views and recommendations, see:Add more shortage occupations, speed up visa grants, lower the employer sponsorship threshold, prioritise onshore applicants! Home Affairs and other stakeholders’ submissions offer advice for post-pandemic skilled migration!

After the end-of-March deadline, the views from these organisations, groups and individuals will be compiled into a summary report and submitted to the Department of Home Affairs. It’s likely that, before the new financial year’s migration program settings are finalised, these views will be taken into account to some degree, and there may well be some easing.

This week, the Prime Minister,Morrison made clear that the Australian government must keep an open attitude towards the migration program. Australia must re-examine the role temporary visa holders play in meeting our economy’s labour needs, because Australians can’t fill these jobs. He said it needs to be understood that using temporary visa holders to fill severe labour shortages actually creates jobs in other parts of the economy — particularly in sustaining economic growth and services in regional areas. These needs won’t simply disappear once the pandemic ends.Agriculture, nursing and aged care, and hospitality are the industries and sectors currently confirmed to be under serious consideration.

Also, as the Prime Minister said,once the vaccine rollout for adults in Australia proceeds smoothly,international travel could resume as early as October.There’s hope the borders will reopen,though there’s no guarantee at this stage — “this is our hope and expectation”.

Another piece of the latest news is thatAustralia hopes to partner with Singapore,to set up a quarantine gateway, resort and potential vaccination hub in Singapore for Australians wanting to return home, international students and business travellers.If successful, the arrangement would help break the deadlock for the roughly 40,000 Australians stranded overseas, encourage Singaporean nationals and third-country travellers to visit Australia, and help Australia bring international students back to rescue the study-abroad sector. At the same time, Australians already onshore would also be allowed to travel to Singapore for work or leisure without needing an exemption.New Zealand could potentially become a third party, turning this into a trilateral arrangement,federal government sources hope this arrangementcan be up and running by July or August.

189 EOI by occupation

latest backlog data

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Feifan English PTE&CCL update this week

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5. This week’s roundup of visa grants, invitations, skills assessments and citizenship processing progress

A roundup of Newstars’ recent visa grants and invitations across all categories: press and hold below to view,the webpage will be continually updated, and we strongly recommend yousave and bookmark it!

State nomination invitation / GTI invitation statistics

Canberra state nomination

2021/02/19Submitted 190,2021/03/09invited, 272613

2021/02/19Submitted 190,2021/03/10invited, 261313

2021/02/25Submitted 190,2021/03/10invited, 261111

Submitted 190 on 17/12/2020,2021/03/11invited, 221111

Submitted 190 on 19/12/2020,2021/03/11invited, 221111

Submitted 190 on 19/12/2020,2021/03/11invited, 221112

Submitted 190 on 26/12/2020,2021/03/11invited, 233213

2021/02/23Submitted 190,2021/03/12invited, 149212

2021/03/05Submitted 491,2021/03/11invited, 212416

2021/02/26Submitted 491,2021/03/12invited, 221111

Victoria state nomination

None this week

Tasmania state nomination

Submitted 190 state nomination on 29 January 2021, received state government invitation on 9 March 2021, Accountant (General) 221111, 70+5

Submitted 190 state nomination on 29 January 2021, received state government invitation on 12 March 2021, External Auditor 221213, 65+5

NSW state nomination

The following all received a formal nomination invitation after submitting documents following an earlier pre-invitation

Submitted state nomination application on 4 March 2021, approved on 8 March 2021 (95+5, Software Engineer)

Submitted state nomination application on 3 March 2021, approved on 8 March 2021 (95+5, Civil Engineer)

Submitted state nomination application on 1 March 2021, approved on 10 March 2021 (95+5, Software Engineer)

Submitted state nomination application on 3 March 2021, approved on 12 March 2021 (95+5, Structural Engineer)

South Australia state nomination

None this week

Queensland state nomination

None this week

Western Australia state nomination

None this week

Northern Territory state nomination

None this week

GTI invitations

None this week

This week’s visa grant progress and analysis

189 Skilled Independent visa

Visa lodged on 15 October 2020, granted on 9 March 2021 (Medical Laboratory Scientist 234611, offshore)

Visa lodged on 18 March 2020, granted on 9 March 2021 (Accountant General 221111, onshore)

Visa lodged on 19 March 2020, granted on 9 March 2021 (Architect 23211, onshore)

Visa lodged on 19 March 2020, granted on 9 March 2021 (Secondary School Teacher 241411, onshore)

Lodged on 23 March 2020, granted on 12 March 2021 (Civil Engineer, 90, primary and secondary applicants onshore)

190 State Nominated Skilled visa

2020/10/23Lodged,2021/03/10granted, 261111, primary and secondary applicants onshore

2020/02/03Lodged,2021/03/11granted, 221111, primary and secondary applicants onshore

Lodged on 22/11/2020,2021/03/10granted, 221111, primary applicant onshore, no secondary applicant

491 (new regional) / 489 (former regional) sponsored visa

Lodged on 2/3/2020, granted on 12/3/2021, 261312, primary applicant onshore, no secondary applicant

887 Skilled Regional (permanent) visa

None this week

858GTI Program

None this week

Employer sponsorship

407 Training visa lodged on 31 January 2020, granted on 9 March 2021

482 sponsorship application lodged on 4 March 2021, approved on 9 March 2021

186 visa application lodged on 4 February 2021, granted on 10 March 2021 (IT-related, offshore, family of three)

600 Visitor visa (onshore)

Visa lodged on 18 December 2020, granted on 9 March 2021

Visa lodged on 16 December 2020, granted on 9 March 2021

Visa lodged on 21 December 2020, granted on 9 March 2021

Lodged on 10 March 2020, granted on 12 March 2021

500 Student visa

Visa lodged on 2 October 2020, granted on 9 March 2021

Visa lodged on 30 December 2020, granted on 9 March 2021

Visa lodged on 24 February 2021, granted on 9 March 2021

Visa lodged on 10 March 2021, granted on 10 March 2021

Visa lodged on 24 April 2019, granted on 10 March 2021

Visa lodged on 26 February 2021, granted on 10 March 2021 (offshore)

Lodged on 15 January 2020, granted on 9 March 2021 (offshore)

485 Graduate Work visa

Visa lodged on 13 October 2020, granted on 8 March 2021

Visa lodged on 12 October 2020, granted on 8 March 2021 (with spouse)

Visa lodged on 7 September 2020, granted on 8 March 2021

Visa lodged on 11 March 2021, granted on 11 March 2021

Lodged on 6 March 2020, granted on 9 March 2021 (lodged onshore, granted offshore)

Partner migration

309 visa lodged on 8 March 2019, 309 and 100 granted simultaneously on 8 March 2021

820 visa lodged on 6 December 2019, 820 granted on 9 March 2021

309 visa lodged on 12 April 2019, 309 granted on 11 March 2021 (with child)

820 visa lodged on 24 July 2019, 820 granted on 12 March 2021

Lodged on 19 December 2019, granted on 11 March 2021

309/100 granted simultaneously, lodged 12/12/2019, granted 11/3/2021, applicant offshore

820/801 granted simultaneously, lodged 6/3/2019, granted 9/3/2021, applicant onshore

820/801 visa application lodged on 14 February 2019, both 820 and 801 granted simultaneously on 8 March 2021

820/801 visa application lodged on 8 November 2019, 820 granted on 9 March 2021

820/801 visa application lodged on 26 September 2019, 820 granted on 12 March 2021

802 Child Visa

None this week

Parent migration/visa

None this week

155 Resident Return visa

Applied on 9 December 2020, granted on 9 March 2021

408 visa

None this week

Travel exemption applications

Applied for an outward travel exemption on 9 March 2021, received the exemption on 10 March 2021 (with child)

Applied for an outward travel exemption on 10 March 2021, received the exemption on 11 March 2021

8503/8534 condition waiver

None this week

This week’s skills assessment processing progress

CA (accounting-related)

None this week

CPA (accounting-related)

Lodged on 5 March 2021, completed on 11 March 2021

EA (engineering-related)

Lodged on 10 February 2021, completed on 10 March 2021 (expedited)

VETASSESS

None this week

AITSL (teaching-related)

None this week

ACS (IT-related)

Lodged on 1 February 2021, completed on 9 March 2021

Lodged on 26 February 2021, completed on 10 March 2021

Lodged on 25 February 2021, completed on 9 March 2021 (expedited)

ANMAC skills assessment (nursing-related)

None this week

NAATI Recertification (translation/interpreting-related)

None this week

AIQS (quantity surveying-related)

None this week

AACA (architecture-related)

None this week

If you can’t find the data category you’re after — meaning there’s none this week — you can click through to[Migration Weekly Bulletin Collection]at the top of the article to view past bulletins and find the relevant data.

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Latest official migration news! Home Affairs officials think Subclass 189 may pick up next financial year? Visa processing arrangements! Current state nomination quotas and application status!

Add more shortage occupations, speed up visa grants, lower the employer sponsorship threshold, prioritise onshore applicants! Home Affairs and other stakeholders’ submissions offer advice for post-pandemic skilled migration!

The PM publicly backs migration! “The government must remain open — many roles badly need temporary migrants to fill them!”

Migration benefits plus a prestigious degree — have both at once! We’ll show you how to make this “switch” so you can enjoy policy advantages, have good prospects back home, and potentially save both money and time!

Visa grant numbers for 189/190/491 and others, before and after the pandemic — compared! Have some popular categories actually risen rather than fallen?

Canada officially announces a 400,000 migration quota for 2021! Worth looking into BC provincial nomination migration, which only requires a diploma-level qualification!

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In the official account, reply withone of the numbers below or any keyword (not as a comment at the bottom of the article),to get the most timely and professional migration updates!Reply [A] to view the index (covering all topics)!

Reply:0000 → View the 16 November policy update (491 + skilled migration points)

Reply: 000 → Latest visa/citizenship processing wait times

Reply: 001 → Latest 189 EOI official invitation round report

Reply: 002 → 189 Skilled Independent visa

Reply: 003 → 190 state nominations by state

Reply: 004 → 489 regional state nomination

Reply: 005 → International student business/investor migration

Reply: 006 → Parent migration visa

Reply: 007 → Employer sponsored visa

Reply: 008 → 485 visa

Reply: 009 → Partner migration/points

Reply: 010 → Work experience points

Reply: 011 → PY points

Reply: 012 → NAATI/CCL points

Reply: 013 → Regional area points

Reply: 014 → Visitor/family visit visa

Reply: 015 → Working holiday visa

Reply: 016 → TAFE study

Reply: 017 → Canadian migration for Australian international students

Reply: 018 → 407 Training visa

Reply: 019 → 408 Temporary Activity visa

Reply: 020 → New Zealand migration

Who can apply for an ICT skills assessment? What about different qualifications? How can onshore and offshore work experience be used?Click “Original Article Link”, to see the full breakdown of the ICT skills assessment!